This weekend has been so much fun! Time is going so quick, I’ve now been away from home for 7 weeks and it only feels like I left the George Best airport. I’ve been so busy with university work. We have had group work, an online test and assignments and of course fun!
This weekend was FANTASTIC! I loved it. We left the bantry at 6:30pm and headed for Mossel Bay which is about four and a half hours away. It was a long journey, I’m not used to travelling for so long. I was the only one which isn’t. The American’s think that four hours is not a long journey. There was 8 of us who went to Mossel Bay. 6 American’s including two trainee teachers from St Cloud, Jason and Kyle. There was also a Californian called Ben and three others who are from different places within the USA. Sometimes I think I’m in America as there are so many here. I love being in a group of people from all over the world. It’s good to hear about where people are from. We arrived in Mossel bay at 12 at night as we had a number of stops to stretch our legs. Our first night we stayed in a train hostel. Although I stayed in a hostel last week, we didn’t have our own dorm this week. This week we had 4 others strangers sleeping with us. It was good to experience. Stine was woke in the middle of the night with a man pulling her foot.
We had an early start on Saturday morning so we all were ready at 6:45am as we were going to shark cage dive. Yes we were going to be in water with sharks swimming past. On Saturday morning it was extremely cold as you can see from the photos. We were given a safety talk about keeping our fingers and toes in the cage. We didn’t want to lose them. To attract the sharks, they use fish guts mixed with water. We only waited 20 minutes to see our first shark. When I saw it I was scared, these are great white sharks. All the sharks which we seen were female and were about 3-4 metres in length. It might seem big but they get bigger.
This weekend was FANTASTIC! I loved it. We left the bantry at 6:30pm and headed for Mossel Bay which is about four and a half hours away. It was a long journey, I’m not used to travelling for so long. I was the only one which isn’t. The American’s think that four hours is not a long journey. There was 8 of us who went to Mossel Bay. 6 American’s including two trainee teachers from St Cloud, Jason and Kyle. There was also a Californian called Ben and three others who are from different places within the USA. Sometimes I think I’m in America as there are so many here. I love being in a group of people from all over the world. It’s good to hear about where people are from. We arrived in Mossel bay at 12 at night as we had a number of stops to stretch our legs. Our first night we stayed in a train hostel. Although I stayed in a hostel last week, we didn’t have our own dorm this week. This week we had 4 others strangers sleeping with us. It was good to experience. Stine was woke in the middle of the night with a man pulling her foot.
We had an early start on Saturday morning so we all were ready at 6:45am as we were going to shark cage dive. Yes we were going to be in water with sharks swimming past. On Saturday morning it was extremely cold as you can see from the photos. We were given a safety talk about keeping our fingers and toes in the cage. We didn’t want to lose them. To attract the sharks, they use fish guts mixed with water. We only waited 20 minutes to see our first shark. When I saw it I was scared, these are great white sharks. All the sharks which we seen were female and were about 3-4 metres in length. It might seem big but they get bigger.
We got into our wetsuits and I have to admit that I was scared. I was thinking to myself that I was about to put myself into a cage with sharks in the water. Was I mad, YES! :).. There were two groups, Stine and I went in the second group and as soon as I got into the water, I wasn’t scared and it was more excitement. Who can say that they have been swimming with great white sharks? We were in the water about 20 minutes each time and got in twice. We were able to go under the water and see them swimming past. We were about to get out of the cage to head back to the bay when the instructor told us to under as a shark was coming. He had seen a shark coming from the left side but he didn’t realise that there was only coming from the right. The one from the right caught the tuna head. This shark was on mission and we were less than a metre from it. We were under the water watching it trying to get the tuna head. It was hitting the cage and I seen its teeth. A memory I will never forget. Stine told me I looked at her when the shark was hitting the cage with every emotion possible in my eyes. Fear was probably the biggest emotion. I can now say I faced fear and loved it!!
On Saturday we booked into a hotel with a flat screen TV, nice bedding and an amazing view. It only cost 50 rand more than the hotel which is about £5! Was definitely worth it. We went on a boat trip to a small island called Seal island. On the island there was about 300 seals all relaxing, soaking up the sun. They sound like sheep. On Saturday evening we had a ‘braai’ and relaxed getting to know each other. It was a great evening. You may not believe this but we were looking out of balcony on Saturday evening and seen Dolphins swim past. It sounds like a dream and believe me its fantastic here. After only four hours sleep, I was up again to travel an hour in the opposite direction from Port Elizabeth. We were going to an ostrich farm. It may seem dull but we got to sit on an ostrich and wait for it we got to ride on one. It
was a strange feeling to be holding onto an ostrich going around an enclosure. The instructor speeded mine up and of course I closed my eyes. I was scared encase I would fall off and they would stand on me. I’m such a girl about the thing.On Sunday we travelled back along route 62, the garden route. This has definitely been a highlight of my trip. It was beautiful and over Easter I will explore more. Words can’t describe how beautiful it was. Unbelievable!
Monday was a stressful day for me with lack of sleep and on a low because the weekend was so good. I had to present a lesson in class with three others. It was extremely hard to stand in front of my peers and teach to them like 16 year olds. I am still not used to the curriculum here. Things which we have been taught at home I was told wasn’t acceptable here. For example reading from a handout isn’t not acceptable but back home it is. Teaching practise is going to be difficult as I will have to block out certain aspects which I have been taught. The pupils here are called learners which I find difficult to remember. I find the students from a Xhosa background can’t understand my accent so I have to speak so slow and people from home reading this will agree we speak fast.
Monday night was spent at les’s house. The trainee teachers from Minnesota are going home so it was a goodbye evening from the education department. Their professor from home is here so I enjoyed chatting and telling them about home. People love to here about where I am from, the troubles and of course love to here my accent. On Tuesday evening I also spent it with the trainee teacher, telling other trainee teachers about our school experience. They are a group of students from St Cloud, here for two weeks to witness briefly the educational system here. I enjoyed telling them about my placement school. They were interested to here the difference between a township school and a fee paying school. Although I find the township school hard to be in, I was excited to tell the trainee teachers about it. These experiences will definitely stay with me forever.
Phoned home this week and was glad to hear that people are reading my blog. Thank you Derek for printing it out so people can read it. Also I’m glad that Mollie is doing well. Thinking about you!
Love Jayne xxxx
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